Ripple Partner launched crypto payment solution in Argentina
Tomorrow, September 27th, Ripple partner Bitso will roll out its new payment solution in Argentina. The product will enable users in the Latin American country to access the first QR code payment system in the region powered by XRP and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitso is one of the largest exchanges in the region with over 5 million users. In Argentina alone, the platform took over 1 million customers who will be able to make QR code crypto payments in certain regions starting tomorrow. The product will be expanded to the whole country in the coming months.
Ripple and bitso provide new use cases, Argentinian customers protected from inflation
According to a press release, Bitso’s new payment solution will provide the customer with a solution to remove friction and costs from the process of making daily payments. Users will gain access to the payment product by accessing the stock exchange’s mobile app.
According to the announcement, users will have two options for payments: fiat currency or cryptocurrency. If they choose the latter, the transaction will be free and processed directly in local currency. If they decide to use their cryptocurrencies, the app will automatically convert the digital asset into local fiat currency.
This seems like a convenient option for people who own crypto and are looking for a seamless and affordable way to incorporate it into their everyday lives. Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, approaching 80% year-on-year.
In contrast, the latest US inflation estimates, some of the highest in decades, peaked at around 9% and are currently at around 8%. Argentina’s inflation could reach 100% by the end of 2022, according to certain reports.
In that sense, people have turned to cryptocurrencies, digital assets and other hard assets to hedge against inflation and bypass official exchange rates. Ripple partner Bitso has identified this situation as an opportunity to roll out its latest payment solution.
Additionally, Bitso claims Argentina has some of the highest payment adoption rates for QR codes in the world. Data provided by the exchange platform claims that 59% of Argentines have used QR codes for payments, the regional averages were at 34%. In 2023, 83% of people expect to use this payment method.
Santiago Alvarado, Senior Vice President of Product at Bitso, had the following to say about their new product:
This launch is a testament to our proactive approach to creating crypto-based financial products that are useful in people’s daily lives, while providing a solution to the challenges inherent in the economic landscape of Latin America. This is a particularly important product offering for Argentina, as it provides users with protection against negative economic factors such as inflation and currency devaluation.
Ripple supports Bitso’s growth in Latin America
Furthermore, Alvarado claims that the new product will fulfill one of Ripple’s partner goals: to offer new use cases and to make crypto more useful. The exchange platform began working with the payment company in 2018 to improve the payment rails available to customers.
Since then, Bitso has been able to consolidate its foothold in Latin America and become one of the largest remittance liquidity providers in Mexico and other countries. In that sense, the introduction of the Ripple payment solution On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), which leverages XRP, has been critical.
In 2020, Bárbara González Briseño said the following about Bitso’s collaboration with the payment company:
We want to connect all of Latin America to a single network where everyone can act immediately and cost-effectively, when they need to. Ripple shares our vision to use its innovative technology to create accessible and valuable frictionless exchange for our partners and their customers.
